Yarn delivery arrangement and method



Sept. 27, 1960 Filed Dec. 19. 1956 J. H. SAWYER 2,954,181

YARN DELIVERY ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. JAMES H. SAW YER ATTORNEY P 27, 1960 J. H. SAWYER 2,954,181

YARN DELIVERY ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD Filed Dec. 19. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JAMES H. SAWYER ATTORNEY :for controllingthe yam during this operation:

ARN- DELIVERY, James H. i Sawyer, Clemson, j SIC., assignor to Deering Milliken' Research Corporation, Pendleton; S;.Q.,-a -corprati0n of Delaware FiIed- Dec. 1 9,: 1956; Ser. -No.- 629,305

This: invention; relatesqto a: unique methodgand {apparams: for controlling twisted :ifinev denienyarns; particularly -:fine denier synthetic yarn suchas nylon :etc, idu'ning overend delivery :otithe tyarn from-avpachage, and: more particularly relates to a unique method and apparatus d vvhile stopped, in order to;prevent.or: minimize :kinkingaef-zthe yarn. and. to obtain :aaminimum of .yarntension nonuniformity during delivery irrespective of; the point chidelivery of the yarn from; the; package.

In the art of-knittingapparel 811611.38rStOCklIIgSyetC.

:from: fine .denier'twisted syntheticyarn there are/two major problems which cause considerable :difiiculty. 1' One of these problems is that of tension variations in thetyarn as it is pulled off from the supply package, such mariationsv causing the apparel :to: be :streakedein. appearance and if of sufficient magnitudelfrequently causingtpressotf or break-outv (i.e. breakage) hofl thec-yamgthisi latter defect normally resulting in complete waste'otzthatportion of: thestocking ial rea'dy knitted. VA second iditficulty is that of the formationxof kinksiinthezyarnidunng the delivery of. theyarn from: the;packagegandapantioularly during periods of stoppage of the withdrawal ofzthe -yarn from. the, package; stoppage-sot iwithdrawal of yarn firom a particular package-normally. occurring sevenalifimes during the process of; knittingaa singleastoclging.

*yarn is Withdrawn -fr0m;a substantially barreleshaped package formed on a cone, tover, andrabQut-Lthe: exterior guide surface of each of apair ofannularzguideamembers Ation or; I

o 1 o b eaka .ZQ th ty-atn a t d liv y z-p in 1 1 normally obtained (with similar 3 prior Hart methods and apparatus, particularly gtsuch as-shownin- Us. Patent No. l,20 6, 87 to Lippsyswho teaches the requirementof-a .ring -;of plush around the uddle annulast of a tapered sing-1e flange on: a str ai-g-ht cylindrical spool. The engage- -ment oft-he yarnvwith the pile fibersof this plush'material causes high: frequency-tension variations Whichare of suchmagnitude gas to belverv undesirable, particularly when fine denienyarntis :attempted to be. withdrawn at ,desired-tensions of /2-to.:2,-. grams or less. Also-in such arrangements employing, pile material, the entry. and depantu-re ofgthe yarn in respect of the plush causeaabrupt tension-variationsof very considerable magnitude relativ to 1 the :desired ten ion, i be ng further obvi u y tr m y ndesirable- Another important-feature of the inventioaisthedelivery-of the yarnover the small endof-the cone on which the package is; formed, this serving when used. in

conjunction :the dual-sized guide surfaces ;-at the- 1 smalltendt of the.-,-eone to additionally aid-in maintaining a more ,uniform tension throughout the'delivery-of the yarn. a One factor in the eifect-iveness-of this latter feature is thefact thatas; the point; ofdelivery varies from ne-end.of-th P cka t the ct erz h hd aw l v thetsmallend, ofithe, cone/end over the dual spaced apart (annular guides-results in; of variation: in the ,qdegree pf yarn-,to yarn ntact betvveen the delivered v a aandzyarn a a hetme iA fiurthenteatureiot the inventien;. as. practiced in 'acrdance wtt thepr n appli a iemther f s; in t ,disposition of the axiallytand radially inner guide surface :ati poi tpace an t nm the-a ia t n ey tn ka e-p tsei ;ul ft is-teature-isthe r venai-mixing. of largetension: variations ,and; pressat tg t au qw iap iatoun cangl fo 'a d i r flange an clo entrapment between .J th yar tpackage, from-jslap- -ping o f the-iyarn against the face-oi the flange, .andrfrom he paelgageean d the i-flange. The :space between the axially: inner annulargui-desurfacei and .the, adjacent end- 0f the yarn package pergse shouldithus besuflicientlv large topreventthe wrap; around-angle. ot .the yarn entire-small disc 1 from; becoming too large so --as :to causelarge tensionzgtih m es ,or press-off, as; the. de-

- 1-ivery point I is I at the 1 end 5 of the ;-.package 1 adjacent the inner gu ide surface, land-Q3180 to --prevent': the-yarn :from

which are disposed .at: thesmallt end i ofilthe'conax hiith of the guide surfaces being axially asuwell':xasnradially spaced from each other-.andfrcm theadj a'centzendtzof the yarn package formed v on; thecone. Theeyarnrsis pulled off in continuous engagement wwith thesaadallwandi radial 1-inner guide asurf gainst the axially inner "face i of the lt necessary, however, that the distance-between the smallereguide Surface and the adjavcen-tqend cftthe mfi sage beisufiiciently small, considering, the coefiieients 26f friction; of: the yarn .and. the

1y outer annular guide surface,,and-intermittentlynconaxially outer. annulan guide. surface ispradiallyalargergthan the axially inner guide surface and-ttheepace' traversed by. the yarnbetween the twotannutlar guidet-surfacestis completely free and unobstructed. a This filatternfeature of arranging 1av radially randflaxiallyt in-ner ennualam' zguide surface and a radially and axially outeraguidecsualfacein such arelation. to'each other and the packagellthatwthe yarn path space between the two annularguidesuliifaces is free and unobstructed is a highly impolttantfeatureoof "this invention since it is a major-factor in contributing *to the maintenance *of'-a more uniform tensionth an is ,guide surface andgthe-adjacent end of; the package; that -v m v me b tween; the package and ,the guide .Jnember, --.sueh end being t ermally comparatively. quite irough, and inanyyoase suchgengagement. would [cause un- .r desirablefluctuatiens of tension which inamany instances would be ,ofisuflicient-magnitude to cause breakage of the ,yarn.

In. employing the twiorvdual Si ZQd P agediyaparnannular vguide wsurface members tor, the yar-ngit, is; important; that axially inner "guide mem=b er Will.- be efiective .to. engage "the yarn as his deliyeredf frorn the;packagew,at the .end

adjacent'theinner disc On theother hand, during deliveryofthe yarn 0v er 'the two guide surfaces. the, .pqint *ofcircumferential contact 'of the yarn with the inner guide surface will tend to lag behind the point of contact with the axially outer guide surfaces, and it is necessary that the axial distance between the two guide surfaces be sufficiently small that the yarn Will not wrap around the member employed to separate the two guide surfaces, the separator member in the preferred application or the invention being a cylinder which fits over the nose of the cone. It has been found that for most practical applications of the invention a center-to-center sepration of the annular guide members of approximately 1 /2 to 2 /2 inches is sufiicient to accomplish this function, the maximum distance of operation being determined by the coeflicient of friction between the yarn and the annular guide surfaces and the relative diameters of the guide surfaces and the separator member such that the yarn does not contact the separator during delivery.

The axially and radially outer guide surface serves to artificially balloon the yarn and keep it awayfrom substantial contact with a large portion of the yarn package, to prevent le'nks in the yarn when withdrawal of yarn is stopped, by providing a surface for contact by the yarn to prevent slippage and spiralling of the yarn at this time, as well as generally maintaining the best tension control for the yarn during delivery, particularly in delivering or withdrawing low denier yarns (i.e. of the order of 7-20 denier), such as are employed particularly in the synthetic field as in knitting stockings, etc., such low denier yarns do not have enough mass to balloon suificiently as a result of their rotational angular velocity to hold the yarn away from the package, and this normally causes considerable tension variation and kinks in the yarn due to varying contact of the delivered yarn with the yarn package per se. The large axially outer guide surface, which in the preferred application of the invention is a circular disc having a rounded peripheral edge, is thus employed in one of its functions to artificially balloon the yarn and keep it away from substantial contact with a large portion of the yarn package, particularly as used in the preferred application of the invention wherein yarn is withdrawn over the small end of a cone package.

It is another important aspect of the preferred application of the invention that the diameter of the large axially outer annular guide surface is related to the maximum diameter of the yarn package when half full and that the smaller axially inner annular guide surface is related in diameter to the diameter of the larger outer annular guide surface and the axial distance between the inner annular guide surface and the adjacent end of the yarn package per se, such that the most nearly uniform tension in the yarn is attained when delivery is being accomplished at the point when the yarn package is approximately one-half full, as compared to the full package as normally employed at the beginning of delivery therefrom. In the normal situation according to this aspect of the invention wherein the yarn is delivered from a barrel-build or double-taper-build package formed on a standard cone this results in the rubbing of the delivered yarn in transverse contact with a portion of the yarn package as the yarn is delivered from the area adjacent the lower end of the cone beneath the point of maximum diameter of the package. To completely prevent this rubbing would require a substantial increase in the diameter of the top or outer annular guide surface which would result in an undesirably large variation in the total Wrap around angle of the yarn about the two guide surfaces as the yarn delivery point progressed from one end to the other of the yarn package. This would result in larger tension variations than are normally desired in fine denier yarn delivery, particularly for stocking knitting purposes, and such variation would be increasably noticeable between the tensions occurring at the beginning of delivery when the package is substantially full and tensions occurring when the package is nearly empty, it being seen that the need for this muc 4 larger diameter for the outer guide surface is no longer present when the yarn package is nearly empty. In other words, at the half-package point the relative ratios of the diameter of the two annular guide surfaces and the diameter of the yarn package at its maximum and minimum points when half delivered, with bottle or double-taper or similar builds, will be such that substantially the minimum tension variations occur as the point of delivery varies during withdrawal of the yarn from the package when approximately this size; whereas, when the yarn package is completely full this will result in there being a tension in the yarn as it is delivered from points in the area beneath the point of maximum diameter of the package which is greater than the tension in the yarn as it is delivered from the small end of the cone, but which is partially compensated by increased wrap around engagement with the two annular guide surfaces, the tension in the yarn when delivered from the point of maximum package diameter (near or at the bottom of the package) when the package is nearly empty will be smaller, if only slightly so, than the tension in the yarn as it is delivered from points adjacent or at the small end of the package.

Still other objects and attendant advantages will become apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 illustrates in schematic side elevation a cone with a full package thereon in position for delivery of yarn therefrom according to the invention, with the general path of the yarn from various delivery points being indicated.

Figure 2 is a side elevation similar to Figure 1 when the package is approximately half exhausted, with the general path of the yarn from various delivery points being indicated.

Figure 3 is a further view similar to Figure l illustratiug the delivery paths of the yarn from several points on the yarn package when the package is nearly exhausted.

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the dualflanged cap shown in Figures 1-3.

Referring now in detail to the figures of the drawings, a paper cone type bobbin 11, made of paper, composition, or other suitable material as may be desired, of standard 35 1 taper mounted in upright position on a suitable support 13 as though the fitting of the open base of the cone ll over a frusto-conical block 15 which may in turn be suitably secured against lateral movement on the support 13 as through the medium of a'spike 16 secured to and extending upwardly from the support 13. The block 15 is complementary to the interior of the base or larger end of the cone l1 and thus holds the cone in substantially secure position against lateral or tilting movement thereof during delivery of yarn therefrom.

The invention is particularly adaptable to utilization with packages of yarn wound on a cone wherein the package is of the type having a double-taper or barrelbuild, such double-taper or barrel-build package 17 being illustrated in the exampie shown in the drawings.

The yarn Y from the package 17 is withdrawn over the smaller end of the cone l1 and in engagement with a cap generally indicated at 1%. The cap 19 has two different sized discs forming respectively a larger upper or axially outer rounded annular guide surface 21a and a relatively smaller inner rounded annular guide surface 23a, over and in engagement with which the yarn passes as it is delivered from the cone and package thereon. The discs or flangesll and 23 are suitably secured as by a press-fit or bonding or other desired manner to a bodiment as will be later set forth in more detail. The

a i r i v H cap 19" 'p rererjeuy its; t the end 195 "a tapered interior end surface 19a of substantially:complemefitarytapeifto that ofth e cone for purposes of stability inseating there on, and is-removably seated on the small end oftheeen 11. Through the forming ofjth e inside diamet er orthe spacer tube-'25 at the end (1913 market Qf a size' corresponding to the diameter ofthe cone11 at the;de'si'r ed seating position of the small guide'surfaceerid of the cap 19', the cap maybe quickly amenity seated in proper position-on the cone 11 without'undue operator attention. v p I An axially guide eye 27 is dispdse'd ata'j suitable distance f frd'mth e lafiger guide named Z the yarn thus proceeding from the packageffl over aid into engagement with the annular guide surface zba (depending u onthe ain at delivery of the yam from the package 17 thence over the annular guide suiracsz'm and through the axial guideeye firoin which it may proceed to a knitting rnachine 'or other ap aratus" as may be'desired. I

Guide surface 23a axially spaced apart an; axial distance d from the yarn package 17 and this 'axi'al space d should be sufficiently large to prevent the wrap around angle of the yarn on the rounded annular guide surface 23a "from becoming too largeand thus' causing large tension changes and/ or press-oils as the delivery point is at the adjacent end oft-he package; and also to prevent the yarn from being thrown up against the axially inner faceof'the disc 23. The distance a eweveig should'be sufii'c'i'ently' small considering the cdencientgf friction of the yarn and'the giiide surface 21d a1'1d23 a as wellfas the diameter'of the smaller guide surface 23a and the adjacent end oflth e" package 17, that the yarn does not engage the vend of the cone duringde livery movement betweenth'e' package and the guide me'rnb e'r particularly since ftihe end of the cone 11 isnormally comparatively quite rough; and in anycase such engagement would cause undesirable fluctuation in tensiodwhi chgin many instancesgwould be of suflicient ma'g nit'ude to cause breakage of the yarn. This distance d willivai'y some; what with the variables noted above; includingcoefficient of friction andthe various diameters the elemerits, however, typical specific examples will be given hereinafter in order "to fully exemplify this aspect of the practical invention to those skilled in the As stated in the general description of the invention the distance e between the two guide surface members 21 and 23 should be sufiiciently great that the guide'sur face 23:; will be engaged by the yarn as it is delivered from the adjacent end of the package 17,:while on the other handg this distance e should "be sufficiently: small that the yarn will not wrap around the cylindric'al' member 25. For many practical applications of theinvention, as are illustrated by specific dimensions from specific examples set forth hereinafter; a distance e pfapproximately one and one-halfto two and one-half inches has been found quite satisfactory, although itwill be apparent that with various specific size constructions of the various elements 21, 23, 111 etc., it maybe necessary to vary this dimension beyond this range.

There is preferably disposed on the support 13 a ring 29 of light plush, cotton; felt; furor the like about the base of the cone 11in order to prevent entrapment of the yarn between the base end of the cone 11 =a.nd-the' support 13 in the eventtha t loose yarn windings may be present on the package 17. Also, inorder to prevent the possible snagging of yarn on possibly frayed edges of the base end of the bobbin,- it is desirable to utilize a cone having its lower or base'endlla burnished, in accordance with usual practice in the construction of cones of this type. Further, in order to prevent the yarn from crushing thecone andforming a wrinkled enphraieurface which will interfere with smooth even withdrawal of" the yarng-"aeone is preferably 'iitil'iied whichis resin name y P t I g ai burnishe 'lowe'f'onba's'e' end and iglit plush i-erhovably disposed and supported e: lowei o r 'ba se end of the coiiej'is desirable In" a typic mbbdi'ntent aceorfdingjtbtheinventibn as shown in Figurefl', the'iyarir iS d6'liVId ftl'0D1tlT full package 17 past and in" en agement with: the cap 1 9" and then 'througli"the axialguide eye 27;: With this pre fer-red mam-five emb dime'n when'th point of'de livery of "theyarh Y 'the'packa'ge 17" lies approximately the zoneindicatedat a, the wiHrub in transverse "contact with an axially adjacent portiontof the packa e" and"wi;l1then proceed through the artificial balloon path: 2 formed" 1:9 its 'engagement with the annular surface It will-be notedfhowever, that thewijap aroundangleiof the yarn about the rounded surface 2112i beq'uite man a-11 at a minimum'wlien the yarn is iiigidelivered from this end zon'e'a; asindieated' schematically bythyarhf paths Y Y and Y in Figures 1'' 3; respectively? fthyarh is delivered from approximately the zoh'e indieateds'chmatical- 1y by yarn'paths' Ygi-, Y,, and=Y there will bdsubstantially little orno' rubbingc'onta'ct between the delivered yarn and the axia lly adjacet wiiidings of the package,

due totli'ean'gl e of delivery formed betweeiithe delivery i point and thej' annular" guide surface-2121' relative to the tapenarigle-of 'the-packag'in t.l1'is"z"on Whentheyarn is being delivered from the zone indicated approximately at'c, as" indicated schematically "by the yarn -paths-Y Y and Y the yarn will contact'boththe outer-and larger guide surface 21a and the-inner andsmaller guide surface 131:, the degree of wrapearound=-onthe-guide surface 231 varying inversely with-theaxial distance between theguide member 23 and the point of delivery in the zone 12 It will be readily apparent-that the eifect of the delivery of the yarn over theguide surfaces 211a and 23a asdescribed above will result in a substantial compensation of many of the varioustensionvariations which would occur through simple withdrawal of the y'arnover the end of the package 17, and is highly superiorto arrangements employing a single' annular guide surface; two' guide "surfaces of equal sizfef "of two different sized gui'd'esurfa'ces with plush orthe like 'disposed there'- As the 6f tlfe"package deereases the delivery of the"yarn','fthe"zo-'n e' c will ino'rm'ally 'b'e length ened 's'oifiewfiat," with"thetransition point or zone 33 between" the' zones b and c 'm'ovingtoward the base of the cone to a 'p'dsitien as wapproidmately'indicated"at 3321. The approximatetransitionpoinfioi-whe hetween' tlie zo nes-a and-b, as indicated-"art-3ljwiil also move toward the base, with the transition zone Skbeing located as at 31awlren' the yarn package: is substantially exhausted: It will be appar'ntthat these points are not exact and that there-is nottactually 'an'absolute unvarying transition point involved, but only a transititm zone 31 between each of the'zohes" a and b a second transition zone 33 between the general zones b and 0, these general zonesa; byand e #a-nd Mansitienal-zenes-fl and 33 being indicated merely for"the"purpose of illustrating the approximate mode ofoperation according to a preferred aspect: of the invention; 1 b

As stated further in'the gene alrfdescripticn'of'the invention, the dianie'te-nof-the axially outer aIll'IUil alI guide surface 21a is related to the maximum diameter of the arn ana -Wheaten ran, aediie dtrneteeotahe smaller axially innrlanritilar 'gui'desurfac'e 23d isielated to the diameter ofthe larger annular guide surface and the aildistaince' dbetweefithe inner-guide surface and thadface'nt endbf'theyai n peek-a e" 1'7; sueh that inost nearly uniform tension in the yarn-isattained when de'- livery is being accomplished with the yarn package approximately half full, as compared to the full package as normally employed at the beginning of delivery therefrom. This is an important aspect in assuring the minimum variation of tension both from a standpoint of variation as the yarn delivery point traverses through the zones a, b, c and as the size of the yarn package varies from full, as shown in Figure 1, to substantially empty, as shown in Figure 3. The approximate relative size of the yarn package in one preferred embodiment at the half delivered or half full point is illustrated in Figure 2. While it may appear superficially that the yarn will not engage the radially and axially inner smaller guide surface 23a at the lower end of the zone 0, such normally actually occurs due to the lag angle of the yarn as it proceeds from its point of delivery over the guide surface 21a. It will thus be seen that even though a two dimensional straight line lying in an axial plane and intersecting the outer edges of the guide surface 210 and 23a would appear to render the zone quite short, the lag angle of the yarn as it is delivered (as schematical- -ly illustrated at Ycl, Y and Y will cause the yarn to engage both surfaces 21a and 23a over a substantially longer zone as indicated approximately at c.

In one preferred physical embodiment according to the invention wherein 15 denier monofilament type 66 duPont nylon is unwound from a barrel-build package 17 wound on a standard paper cone of 3-51 taper, the package being 3% in diameter at the largest point and having a length of approximately 8 /2, the following dimensions have been found highly satisfactory, and produce optimum results:

Diameter of top disc 21 inches 3 /2 Thickness of top disc 21 do Diameter of bottom disc 23 do 2 i Thickness of bottom disc 23 do Center-to-center distance 2 between discs do 2 Distance d do 1 Distance 1 to guide eye 27 do 8 /2 Radius of curvature of round edges 21a and 23a inches" Package Weight when full ounces 11 Inches Cone length Base diameter of cone 2% Diameter of package 17 at small end 1 /2 Diameter of package 17 at base end 2% Diameter of package 17 at point of maximum build when half delivered 3 Diameter of package 17 at point of maximum build (full package) 3.4

diameter of the larger disc 21 diameter of the large disc 21 package diameter at maximum build when half delivered or half full diameter of the small disc 23 diameter of the package at the smallest point adjacent the disc 23 The optimum ratios for a number of practical examples, as illustrated above, have been found to be R =1.5, R =1.17 and R =1.3:1.

While the invention has been illustrated as applied to a vertically disposed cone mounted for up-delivery, and such is greatly preferred, it will be apparent that such is not limited to this mounting disposition, it being feasible to employ the invention for down delivery or horizontal delivery as well, although such types of delivery have drawbacks which normally render them less desirable.

I claim:

1. The combination for supplying twisted synthetic yarn comprising a cone having a package of twisted synthetic yarn wound thereon in a substantially barrel-shaped build, a yarn guide arrangement disposed on the small end of said cone and comprising a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel discs and a cylindrical spacer sleeve therebetween, one of said discs having an aperture therein and being removably fitted over said small end of said cone, said one disc being smaller in diameter than the other of said discs and spaced from the smaller end of said yarn package, the ratio R of the diameter of said other disc to the diameter of said one disc lying substantially in the range of 1.4-1.621, and the ratio R of the diameter of said other disc to the maximum diameter of said package when one-half of its original linear length remains in said package lying substantially in the range of 1.081.27: 1, the ratio R of the diameter of said one disc to the diameter of the adjacent end of the full package being substantially in the range of 1.3-1.6: 1, the tape of said cone being substantially in the range of 210.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein R is substantially 1521, R is substantially 1.17:1, and the ratio R is substantially 1.311, and said cone is substantially 3 5 1.

3. The combination for supplying twisted synthetic yarn comprising a cone having a package of twisted synthetic yarn wound thereon in a substantially barrel-shaped build, a yarn guide arrangement disposed on the small end of said cone and comprising a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel discs and a cylindrical spacer sleeve therebetween, one of said discs having an aperture therein and being removably fitted over said small end of said Come, said one disc being smaller in diameter than the other of said discs and spaced from the smaller end of said yarn package, said spacer sleeve having a tapered inner surface adjacent the end thereof having said smaller disc thereon, said taper being complementary to the taper of said cone.

4. The combination for supplying twisted synthetic yarn comprising a cone having a package of twisted synthetic yarn wound thereon in a substantially barrel shaped build, a yarn guide arrangement disposed on the small end of said cone and comprising a pair of spaced apart substantially parallel discs and a spacer member therebetween, cne of said discs being smaller in diameter than the other of said discs and spaced from said yarn pack age, said one disc being closer to said package than said other disc, the ratio R of the diameter of said other disc to the diameter of said one disc lying substantially inthe range of 1.4-1.6: 1, and the ratio R of the diameter of said other discs to the maximum diameter of said package when one-half of its original linear length remains in said package lying substantially in the range of 1.081.27:1, the ratio R of the diameter of said one disc to the diameter of the adjacent end of the full package being substantially in the range of 1.3-1.6:1.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein R is substantially 1.5 :1, R is substantially 1.7:1, and the ratio R is substantially 1.3:1.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,534,579 Dennis Dec. 19, 1950 2,714,812 Leath et al Aug. 9, 1955 2,771,756 Burleson et al Nov. 27, 1956 2,804,273 Duncan Aug. 27, 1957 

